Between Art Shows and Dragonflies

Today I’m at the Flint Art Show in Flint, MI, surrounded by an incredible collection of talent and creativity. It's been an inspiring weekend so far, and there's still plenty of time to stop by and say hello. It looks like it’ll be hit and miss with the rain today but it will be a little cooler to grab a rain jacket and stop in!

Between the excitement of the art show and the final week of school, it's been a wonderfully busy stretch. I am so looking forward to a slower couple of weeks in June to work on some new pieces and get a little more organized. All the watercolor work is off of the website right now but I’ll post unsold work back tomorrow and I’ll bring any to Cadillac for the Phyllis Olson Fine Art Show as well.

Not too much on the board this week, but I did carve out some time to work on a few little snapshots, and I always enjoy that. These small pieces give me a chance to play around with ideas without overthinking them. I bring these snapshots to art shows and keep them available on the website as ACEOs, priced at just $5 each. They’re tiny pieces of original art, but I like to think they can brighten a corner of someone’s day. They’re perfect tucked into a hostess gift, slipped under a refrigerator magnet, or sent along in a card as a small surprise.

I also started something a little bigger but more next week!

It has been wonderful to finally settle into some warm weather. The gardens are thriving, the kayaks made their first trips of the season this week, and at last it feels like summer has arrived.

One of the greatest gifts of our property is it’s proximity is the small lake, or perhaps very large pond, on the neighbor’s property. It attracts all sorts of wildlife, giving us a front-row seat to the daily activity of creatures that call it home. Frogs provide an evening soundtrack, a massive snapping turtle occasionally lumbers through the backyard, and a belted kingfisher announces its presence from the treetops. We even have a squadron of dragonflies that seem to have appointed themselves our personal bodyguards.

When we first moved here, much of the property was surprisingly barren. Years of heavy shade and relentless mowing had stripped away much of the vegetation. Slowly, after years of planting, patience, and letting nature reclaim its space, the landscape has come back to life.

More plants have brought more insects, but they have also brought back the dragonflies. Green Darners and Eastern Pondhawks patrol the yard like tiny aerial hunters, often circling around us whenever mosquitoes or midges are present. Next to our backyard water feature, damselflies and Common Whitetails perch among the plants, waiting for the next meal to drift by.

Every summer seems to bring a few more wild neighbors from the pond, and with them, a reminder that patience can transform a landscape into a thriving community. Watching it all unfold feels like its own kind of art.

If you’re reading this, you’re already where I most like to share my work. Thanks for being here in this slower space. I’ll see you next week. Until then, If you’d like to follow me on TikTok, Instagram and/or Facebook, please do, I post regularly.

Warmly,
Laura
NORDmi.com